{"id":3842,"date":"2026-05-24T00:30:32","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T23:30:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842"},"modified":"2026-05-25T19:25:52","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T18:25:52","slug":"black-potts-timber-footbridge-unusable-but-still-standing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842","title":{"rendered":"Black Potts timber footbridge – unusable but still standing"},"content":{"rendered":"

A number of local footbridges have significant problems and are closed to the public.\u00a0 Black Potts timber footbridge over the Jubilee River in Datchet has been closed since mid-2025 due to structural issues.\u00a0 This timber bridge is only about 25 years old and on the verge of collapse.\u00a0 The footpath has been diverted via the main road and the notice uses the word ‘repairs’.\u00a0 \u00a0Please have a look at the images below and consider whether the word ‘repairs’ is a viable option.<\/p>\n

Below is an image of the West end structural issues.\u00a0 The beam is clearly sagging but the question is ‘why’?<\/strong><\/span>\u00a0 I closely examined the collapsed remains of the Ashford Lane timber footbridge and it was obvious that due to the removal of material from the beam<\/strong><\/span> during the machining of the mortice joints – the remaining material cross-section was left with insufficient strength to cope with the loads.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span>To be clear – the combination of material selection, structural design and manufacture has led to weaknesses that significantly reduce the life of the construction.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Note the clear view through the failed joint below.\u00a0 The beam is being torn apart.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Note the failed East end abutment below.\u00a0 \u00a0Due to the joint design and construction, there is little material remaining to convey the applied loads.\u00a0 Water ingress into the joint has facilitated and accelerated timber rot.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Another failed joint below<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Below shows the nearside vertical member tearing out of the South-side beam and a significant vertical gap between the far side diagonal and the North-side beam.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

You may wish to visit the footbridge in order to view the issues for yourself.\u00a0 This is your money – past, present and future!\u00a0 The key question:\u00a0 Is it cheaper and safer to dismantle the bridge while it is still standing – or just wait until it has collapsed?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A number of local footbridges have significant problems and are closed to the public.\u00a0 Black Potts timber footbridge over the Jubilee River in Datchet has been closed since mid-2025 due to structural…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[159,179,196],"class_list":["post-3842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-black-potts-footbridge","tag-timber-footbridge-failure","tag-timber-footbridge-maintenance"],"yoast_head":"\nBlack Potts timber footbridge - unusable but still standing - DHWNEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Black Potts timber footbridge - unusable but still standing - DHWNEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A number of local footbridges have significant problems and are closed to the public.\u00a0 Black Potts timber footbridge over the Jubilee River in Datchet has been closed since mid-2025 due to structural...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"DHWNEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-23T23:30:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-25T18:25:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"ecwlarcombe\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"ecwlarcombe\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"ecwlarcombe\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f696cd1eb9c322931f8d0e39fdf8017\"},\"headline\":\"Black Potts timber footbridge – unusable but still standing\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T23:30:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-25T18:25:52+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842\"},\"wordCount\":313,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/IMG_9076-300x200.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Black Potts footbridge\",\"timber footbridge failure\",\"timber footbridge maintenance\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Uncategorized\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842\",\"name\":\"Black Potts timber footbridge - unusable but still standing - DHWNEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/IMG_9076-300x200.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-23T23:30:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-05-25T18:25:52+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/IMG_9076-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/IMG_9076-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?p=3842#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Black Potts timber footbridge – unusable but still standing\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"DHWNEWS\",\"description\":\"Datchet, Horton & Wraysbury News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"DHWNEWS\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/dhwlogo1.png?fit=357%2C334&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2022\\\/10\\\/dhwlogo1.png?fit=357%2C334&ssl=1\",\"width\":357,\"height\":334,\"caption\":\"DHWNEWS\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/2f696cd1eb9c322931f8d0e39fdf8017\",\"name\":\"ecwlarcombe\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0ec4f2fe12dab3e1b48c39a4b0633913d283908bffb9e52165186f1dc7fcee8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0ec4f2fe12dab3e1b48c39a4b0633913d283908bffb9e52165186f1dc7fcee8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/0ec4f2fe12dab3e1b48c39a4b0633913d283908bffb9e52165186f1dc7fcee8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"ecwlarcombe\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/dhwnews.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Black Potts timber footbridge - unusable but still standing - DHWNEWS","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Black Potts timber footbridge - unusable but still standing - DHWNEWS","og_description":"A number of local footbridges have significant problems and are closed to the public.\u00a0 Black Potts timber footbridge over the Jubilee River in Datchet has been closed since mid-2025 due to structural...","og_url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842","og_site_name":"DHWNEWS","article_published_time":"2026-05-23T23:30:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-05-25T18:25:52+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2560,"height":1707,"url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-scaled.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"ecwlarcombe","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"ecwlarcombe","Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842"},"author":{"name":"ecwlarcombe","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2f696cd1eb9c322931f8d0e39fdf8017"},"headline":"Black Potts timber footbridge – unusable but still standing","datePublished":"2026-05-23T23:30:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-25T18:25:52+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842"},"wordCount":313,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-300x200.jpg","keywords":["Black Potts footbridge","timber footbridge failure","timber footbridge maintenance"],"articleSection":["Uncategorized"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842","url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842","name":"Black Potts timber footbridge - unusable but still standing - DHWNEWS","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-300x200.jpg","datePublished":"2026-05-23T23:30:32+00:00","dateModified":"2026-05-25T18:25:52+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/IMG_9076-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?p=3842#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Black Potts timber footbridge – unusable but still standing"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/","name":"DHWNEWS","description":"Datchet, Horton & Wraysbury News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#organization","name":"DHWNEWS","url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dhwlogo1.png?fit=357%2C334&ssl=1","contentUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/dhwnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/10\/dhwlogo1.png?fit=357%2C334&ssl=1","width":357,"height":334,"caption":"DHWNEWS"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/2f696cd1eb9c322931f8d0e39fdf8017","name":"ecwlarcombe","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ec4f2fe12dab3e1b48c39a4b0633913d283908bffb9e52165186f1dc7fcee8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ec4f2fe12dab3e1b48c39a4b0633913d283908bffb9e52165186f1dc7fcee8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0ec4f2fe12dab3e1b48c39a4b0633913d283908bffb9e52165186f1dc7fcee8d?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"ecwlarcombe"},"url":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/?author=1"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3842"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3858,"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3842\/revisions\/3858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3842"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3842"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dhwnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3842"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}